


Girl Meets Names

by Carathay



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 08:39:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6187771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carathay/pseuds/Carathay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maya and Lucas are new to being together. And nothing really feels right. Riley tries to be the happy supportive friend but is surprised when Lucas takes offense to a friendly little nickname. Katy and Shawn have also found that even though they're seeing each other, they're not really going anywhere.  When the word 'boyfriend' gets tossed around, things start to go wrong.  What is in a name?  What does it mean?  Does it mean different things to different people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was slowly setting across the city. The view was gorgeous from the roof of Riley's building. Maya was trying yet again to capture that sunset light with colored pencil, paper, and a little bit of hope. First she drew deliberately. Then slowly. Then hesitantly. Then she quietly set down her pencils, including the one she'd been holding in her teeth. She gently tore the page out of her sketchbook. She gazed quietly at her work. Then her muscles clenched and she scrunched it into a ball.

Actually, she only scrunched her hands into a ball. The paper had been pulled out of her hands at the last moment by Lucas.

"Hey!" she screamed. "What the heck gives you the right to do that?"

"This does." Lucas replied. And he gave her a tiny little peck on the cheek. It might have been a nice moment except that at the same time that his lips reached her cheek, her thumb began to sting. And then to really hurt. She looked down to see a cute little bubble of blood coming out of the paper cut he'd caused.

"Typical." She thought. "It's like the universe is trying to tell me something." Resisting the impulse to scream or say deeply inappropriate things that she'd heard people saying on the subway, she instead just stuck her thumb in her mouth. At Lucas's quizzical look, she pulled it back out – showed him the cut, and then promptly put it back in her mouth.

Lucas flinched. "Oh my gosh, Maya. I didn't realize that doing that might cut you. Can I get you a bandage or something?"

"Nah." She replied, talking around her thumb. "This is fine. Plus it's all salty like."

"What are you, a vampire?" he replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"Of course I am; didn't you already know?" She replied. Then she made little bat wing motions with her hands but since her thumb was still in her mouth, it came out pretty lame looking.

From his eyes, she could tell he wasn't actually amused. But he played along anyway. That was how things worked nowadays. In a monotone voice he replied. "Yes, oh queen of darkness, forgive me for not already knowing about your magnificence and undeadness. I know that you rule the night. Enchant us all with your power." His tone went back to normal. "Seriously, can I get you something? Ice?"

"Don't bother Lucas. This isn't the first time I've been cut. It won't be the last." Maya didn't mean a lot by saying that but Lucas reacted to the comment like he he'd been the one cut. She stood up and held out her hand for the picture. "Gimme." She said. He handed it over warily. She smiled sweetly at him. "Lucas. Let's get something really, really clear. My life. My art. My decision." She crumpled the paper into a ball with one hand and then tossed it into a trash can. Then she walked over to the stairs and opened the door.

Before she could start down, Lucas called out. "Hey, why do you keep calling me Lucas?"

Maya looked back. A thousand flippant answers flew through her head but only one of them stuck. "Because it's your name." Then she headed down to Riley's.

When she got there the door was locked. So she reached into her pocket with her good hand and pulled out her key. Fumbling a bit since was her left hand, she got it unlocked and pushed it open. Mr. Matthews was sitting on the couch grading papers. He looked over.

"Umm, Maya? Why do you have a key to our apartment?" he asked.

She breezed on by him heading for Riley's room. On the way past, she patted him lightly on the head. "Because it's 'our' apartment, silly." She went through the doorway by the kitchen and then stopped. She poked her head back into the main room. In a far more contrite voice she said. "Look. I'm sorry. Riley gave it to me a long time ago so that, well, I'd always have somewhere to go. Do you mind? Is it okay?" It was obvious from the hesitation that she was expecting him to yell at her.

He smiled gently. "Yes Maya. It's okay. You're always welcome here."

Maya ducked her head back through the doorway and continued on to Riley's room. Mr. Matthews never acted the way she expected him to. Strangely, it had become something that she counted on. His unpredictability was actually one of the few solid rocks in her world because whatever unexpected thing he decided to do, it was always exactly what she needed. Riley, of course, was her other rock.

As she entered Riley's room, Maya absently put her thumb back in her mouth. Riley looked over from the window seat and noticed immediately. She put her thumb into her mouth as well and then proceeded to talk through it. "Why is your thumb in mouth Maya? Is it a new game? Are we pretending to be babies? Can I be your twin?" With each sentence, Riley's voiced had gotten more and more excited.

"Sorry hon." Maya replied, pulling her thumb back out and showing the injury. "Just a paper cut that I got from the picture that I was working on. You know what they say. Being an artist is all about pain."

Concern overtook Riley's face and she suddenly became a flurry of activity. Gauze, bandages, and antibiotic ointment appeared as if by magic and in a thrice, Maya's thumb was neatly bandaged. That part wasn't so bad. The tiring part was that after Riley was done, Maya had to sit quietly while Riley signed the 'cast' she'd made and then tried to draw a little happy flower on it. But since the bandage was pretty tiny, the drawing looked more like one of Riley's purple cats.

In other words, it was a just a blob of purple ink.

"Do you love it?" Riley asked. "It's my masterpiece. Tell me you love it. Please?

Maya rolled her eyes but then couldn't help smiling. "Of course I do Riles. Thank you for taking all that trouble. Oh, I forgot to mention that Lucas is probably still up on the roof if you wanted to talk to him."

Riley looked away. "But I thought he was there to see you?"

Maya sighed. "Yes he was. And now he's seen both me and my bleeding finger. But he hasn't seen you yet so, go on, scoot." She made a shooing motion with her hands and winced a bit when she moved her injured thumb. "Just go on before I have to shoo you again. It hurts too much."

Riley bobbed her head with a combination of 'okay' and 'I'm sorry' and then skipped lightly out of the room. The sound of her shoes thudding across the floor of the living room floated back to Maya, as did Mr. Mathews yet again asking Riley not to skip in the house. But he only asked nicely and Riley kept skipping so all was right with that part of her world. She leaned back into the window seat and sighed.

"You'd think we could figure these things out, wouldn't you?" She asked the faceless bear sitting on Riley's bed. "Riles is still so happy to go see Lucas that she can't help herself but to skip. And that's even after she forces me and him to get together whether we wanted to or not. And I can't find a way to be comfortable in his company anymore. It's not fun like it used to be. But Lucas and I are officially a thing and Riley won't hear otherwise. And Lucas. You poor, poor bumpkin. You've finally given in and accepted being with me instead of Riles and I don't know if it's ever going to work between us. And if it doesn't… Dear lord, if Riley and I spin your head around again you're going to start whapping at us like we're piñata's." She closed her eyes and just lay back into the pillows.

When Riley got to the top of the stairs, Lucas was just opening the door to come down. He brightened as soon as he saw her. "Hey Riley! I've missed you!"

Riley leaned against the wall and kind of ducked her head. "What do you mean you missed me? You saw me in school this afternoon."

"That's not exactly what I meant... Well, nevermind. Look, I've got all of Maya's art stuff bundled up for her. Could you take it to her? I think she's kind of mad at me for trying to stop her from crumpling up a picture. Plus I gave her a papercut."

Riley pulled back. "You gave her the papercut!?" she asked in a dramatic voice. He nodded reluctantly. She continued. "How dare you, you beast!" Then she let go of the act and she smiled. "It's okay. It wasn't that bad and I got to bandage it and sign it with a happy purple flower! That makes it heal faster, you know."

Lucas smiled and laughed at the comment. "Better than purple cats?"

"Lucas" she said in her mock serious voice. "Cats are for pictures. Flowers are for healing."

"I suppose you're right. That must be why people bring flowers to people in the hospital. You've got an amazing heart, Riley. You always take such good care of your friends." He glanced down at his watch. "Shucks, I've got to get home for dinner. Talk to you later?"

Riley's face lit up. "Definitely. I mean, unless you're busy talking to Maya or something. I wouldn't want to interrupt you or get in your way."

"Riley, we're still friends. We're allowed to talk anytime we want. And, like I said before, Maya's mad at me so you wouldn't be interrupting anything anyway. Look I'm sorry but I've really got to go."

"Okay. Later then Buckyboy!" Riley tried.

"Later. And, um, Riley? Please. No 'Buckyboy'. Or anything else. To you I'm just Lucas."

His tone caught her attention. "Does it matter?" She asked.

"Yes. It actually matters quite a bit. Hey, sorry. I've got a lot of homework tonight. Maybe we should just talk tomorrow." And with that he headed down the stairs without another glance back.

With no one left on the roof to visit with, well other than her imaginary playmates that still hovered up here building rainbows for rainy days, Riley returned to the apartment. When she passed her dad, she stopped and looked at him.

"Daddy? I'm confused. Lucas doesn't want me to call him by any nicknames. But Maya does it all the time. I think he used to like it. This not liking something you used to like… It's a boy thing, right? And he's a boy and you used to be a boy. So you can explain, right?"

"Umm, Riley… I'm still a boy. Well, technically a man but I'm still male."

"No you're not. You're not a boy. You're my daddy."

Mr. Matthews smiled. "There's that word again. Daddy. And, don't get me wrong, I love hearing that word. But I'm also Mr. Matthews. Or Cory. Or Johnny Baboon if you ask our school janitor. We all have a lot of names in this world. Who we are sometimes depends on who you ask."

Riley shook her head. "No no no. You're Daddy and that's all there is to it."

Mr. Matthews gave her one of those 'teaching looks.' "It means a lot to you, doesn't it? To call me daddy I mean?"

"Of course!" Riley was shocked that he even had to ask.

"Then I want you to think about why it's so important to you. And then maybe you'll figure out what's going on with Lucas."

Maya overheard the entire conversation from the hallway. It was sobering. She'd never really thought about things that way. She sighed. Then she smiled instead and thought to herself. "Wow Riley. This may be the first time that I'll know the answer to one of Mr. Matthews's questions before you do." Then she turned to go back to Riley's room.


	2. Chapter 2

Riley was waiting outside of class that next morning. She had been hoping to get a chance to talk to Lucas before things got started. She wanted to apologize and make things right between them again. But either he was truly running late or he was trying to avoid her because he ended up rushing in right before the bell rung with no more than a wave of hello.

Lucas didn't look at Riley while he walked over to his seat and sat down. He didn't want to see the hurt in her eyes. He hadn't meant to snap at her. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he'd been upset. Was it because she'd used a nickname with him when it was really a Maya thing? Or maybe because Maya had stopped using nicknames? Or was he just over thinking all of this and he'd just been tired last night.

Mr. Matthews walked into the class, interrupting his reverie. Lucas tried to focus on the lesson and not on the two beautiful girls who filled his peripheral vision. Truth be told, that's actually why he'd wanted this particular seat the first day he walked into the classroom. As a boy who grew up in Texas, he had learned to have a real appreciation for a good view.

Maya zipped into her seat just as Mr. Matthews turned to write on the board. Without even turning around, he spoke. "I saw that Maya. That's the third time this week that you've been late. Which doesn't make any sense because you come to school with Riley and she isn't late. Do you at least have an interesting reason why you can't make it into the room on time?

Maya grimaced. "I think it's interesting but you probably wouldn't." she quipped at him, trying to cover her discomfort with humor.

"See me after class, Maya, and I suppose we'll find out.." He replied. Then he turned and the class could see what he'd written on the board. It read -

Constantinople – Istanbul  
Ceylon - Sri Lanka

"Does anyone know what these things have in common?" he asked.

Lucas gave it a try. "They're places?"

Mr. Matthews smiled. "Close. Mr. Friar. Very close. Farkle? Can you add the missing piece?"

Farkle delightedly spoke up. "They're places that that changed their names. For example, during the time of the Roman Empire, the emperor Constantine named the place Constantinople. But when the Turks invaded and took it over, they renamed it Istanbul."

"Exactly." said Mr. Matthews.

Lucas looked over at Farkle. "Seriously? Couldn't you NOT know the answer to these things from time to time so the rest of us don't look so bad?"

Farkle looked puzzled. "You want me to 'not know' something I know? That doesn't make any sense."

Mr. Matthews resumed. "The people of Constantinople didn't want to change who they were. But they were forced to by a conquering force. And some of them fought against it for a very long time before they lost and the name finally became official hundreds of years later."

Zach spoke up. "Why did it matter what they were called? Wasn't one name just as good as another?"

"No. People should be able to be called what they want." said Lucas.

Riley looked at Lucas, remembering his annoyance at her nickname yesterday. "But what if the outside world wants to give you a good name? What if they want you to be 'Happy Fluffy Bunnyland'? Why wouldn't you want that?"

Lucas replied. "But what if you're not feeling happy, fluffy, or bunny-like? It isn't right to call someone that when it's not what they want to be seen as."

"You're right Lucas. Names are incredibly important." said Mr. Matthews. "And an old one and a new one might give us a completely different picture of a place. You might remember from Social Studies last year how we talked about Mesopotamia?"

Maya smiled. "Yeah, I remember that. It was the yummy crescent roll!"

"Actually Maya, it was referring to a place called the Fertile Crescent. It was a valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers thousands of years ago where culture and agriculture flourished." Mr. Matthews went on.

"Yeah, that makes more sense. I think I missed breakfast that morning because I remember being really hungry when you were talking about it."

Riley piped up. "And now I make sure you have a good breakfast every single day!"

Maya smiled back. "Yes you do hon."

Mr. Matthews continued. "Well, we now call that place Iraq."

Lucas perked up. "Iraq War Iraq?" he asked. Mr. Matthews nodded. "Wait, so my Dad's been to Mesopotamia?"

"No Lucas. That changed happened so long time ago that it doesn't really apply anymore. Many things have changed there over the last few thousand years including the name. Instead of a place of culture and knowledge, it is a now place of violence and persecution. It isn't Mesopotamia anymore."

Maya stepped in. "But both are correct, right? Both names still refer to the same physical place?

Mr. Matthews took a deep breath. "They do. But which name we use for that place says as a lot about what we're thinking about it. If we use the old name, we're thinking about ancient history. If we use the new one, we're thinking about now."

Lucas wasn't willing to let it go. "But what if a place wants to change their name all on their own? Can they do that?"

"They can try. Sometimes they have to fight for it though and that's my second example. The city of Ceylon became a republic in 1972 and changed their name to Sri Lanka, which means "splendid thing." It was a sign of hope for a new future. They chose how they wanted to be seen and defined. But it took a long time for the outside world to recognize it and are still maps that list it as Ceylon"

Lucas interrupted. "But they got to choose? Someone didn't choose for them who they were?"

"That's right. Sometimes you get to choose your name. Sometimes you don't. And what you call yourself and what the rest of the world calls you is not always the same thing."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note – Reviews are really appreciated and help me guide the story. Thanks so much to aliqueen16 for helping me out.

Maya, Lucas, Farkle and Riley were all sharing a table at Topanga's'. Maya's mother Katy had just finished serving them and was heading back to the counter when Shawn popped in through the front door.

"Your boyfriends back! You're gonna be in trouble!" he sang teasingly.

Maya perked up immediately. "Boyfriend? Really? Oh Mom, that's great!" She turns to see that her mom's face has drained of color. "Wait, Mom? That is great, right?

Katy walked quickly across the restaurant and pulled Shawn to one side. "Umm… Shawn? We're friends. We haven't really talked about the B word. Or the G word."

Shawn tried to set her at ease. "Is the G word guppie? 'Cause I like that one." Since Katy's expression didn't get any happier, he tried a different tact. "Look, I'm sorry. I was just trying to tease you. "

Katy's expression actually got worse. "So you don't feel that way? Our relationship is just a joke?"

Shawn backpedaled madly. "Of course not. Wait… What… Umm. I'm confused. What do you want me to tell you?"

Katy shot back. "I want the truth, of course."

"Then can you tell me what that is so I answer right next time?" Shawn waited for that little bit of a smile from her before he continued. "Sorry. OK. Let's go over this logically. Would you agree that we've gone on a few dates?" Katy nodded. "And will go on more dates?"

"Yes to the first one. The second one is a bit up in the air right now, but, please go on." Katy replied.

"Well, do you want to stop seeing me?" he asked, afraid of a bad answer..

"No. No I don't. Not at all!"

"Then what's the problem with a label? Friend, boyfriend, it doesn't change who we are or what we're doing."

"The problem is that Boyfriend is a whole lot more permanent sounding than friend. Especially to Maya. I don't want her to get her hopes up when we're still figuring this out ourselves."

"I hate to break it to you but her hopes have been up since before you and I even met. There isn't a lot we can do about that. And my hopes are up too. I really like you Katy."

Katy interrupted. "I know. I like you too Shawn."

"Do you want to keep seeing me?" He asked point blank.

"Of course I do!"

"Are you seeing someone else?"

"No!"

"Well, I'm not either. And to answer the next question, I don't want to see anyone else. And neither do you, I can tell. So since it's come up, why not say boyfriend? I want to be your boyfriend. I want you to be my girlfriend. Why not give Maya something more stable?"

"Because this isn't really about her. And because in my experience, boyfriends leave!"

"And in my experience girlfriends leave. But that doesn't mean we don't give this a chance. Don't you want that?"

"Yes, Shawn, I do. But saying boyfriend still scares me. I don't want to use that word. I just want to keep saying friend."

"Is that forever? I want this to go somewhere Katy and that means at some point, we call it more than friends. I mean, what do we do instead? Go straight from being friends to me proposing?"

Maya was watching the two of them closely. It wasn't all that large of a restaurant and she didn't really understand why people thought that if they just walked to one side, the rest of the place still couldn't hear every word. Her mind was racing. Was Shawn actually proposing to her mom? Would she say? Did that mean Shawn could maybe be a real dad to her? She looked over at Riley and remembered how happy she'd been yesterday calling Mr. Matthews Daddy. Maya had been wanting to feel that way her entire life. She'd wanted to call someone Daddy and have it mean what it meant to Riley. Then her attention was drawn back to her Mom and Shawn.

Shawn suddenly looked like a light bulb had gone on. He smiled as bright as the sun. "Wait, is that it? Is that the problem? Do you want me to propose to you?" His voice went really soft. "Would fiance be a better word than boyfriend?"

Katy just stared at him. This conversation hadn't remotely gone the way she had expected. She tried to reply but words just wouldn't come out. Finally she sort of half screamed, turned, and stormed into the back room.

Shawn looked over at Maya, who obviously had heard the entire conversation. "I'm not sure what just happened here. Do you?" he said.

"Did you just propose to my mother?"

"I'm not sure." Shawn said, staring at the door Katy had just exited. "I might have. If I did, do you think that was a yes or a no?"


	4. Chapter 4

The only member of the gang left in Topanga's was Lucas. Despite the strange proposal confusion, Riley had pestered Maya for twenty solid minutes that there was no time to lose in shopping for a bridesmaid dress. Maya had finally given in just to shut her up. Farkle has been dragged along to spend the next few hours holding their bags while they were trying things on. Lucas had stayed behind, claiming he really wanted to finish his milkshake. Somehow Riley couldn't find an argument for that and so they'd left him alone.

He sat there stirring the completely melted milkshake. Katy had been so flustered by the quasi proposal, she'd served 4 customers cups of cream with a little bowl of coffee to go with it. Finally she'd called Topanga and asked her to take over while she went for a walk. Topanga walked over to check on Lucas. "Do you want a refill on that milkshake?"

"It's not a milkshake anymore. It's just… milk." he said.

"Yeah, that's really why I came over here. You've just been staring at that thing for over an hour. What's up, cowboy?" Topanga asked.

"Can you just call me Lucas please?" he asked.

Topanga sat down next to him. "Riley told me you weren't liking nicknames. What's going on? It used to seem like you loved it when the girls gave them to you."

Lucas pushed the melted milkshake away. "I… I don't exactly know. It all feels different."

"Why don't you go ahead and talk it out. Maybe I can help you figure it out. That's a big part of being a lawyer, you know. Finding the truth amongst a lot of confusion. So just like when I'm in the courtroom, let's start at the beginning. How did it used to feel when the girls gave you those silly nicknames?

"Well, to start with, it wasn't the girls giving me nicknames. It was just Maya. And, yes, I liked it a lot. It didn't matter how crazy it was, it made me feel special inside when she went to the all of the trouble of coming up with a new one. But what made it even more fun was when I didn't take offense at her carefully built up name and she did that little growl noise. Well, let's just say it lit me up like a traditional Texas Fourth of July."

"And yet you ended up dating my daughter?" Topanga looked surprised.

Don't get me wrong ma'am, your daughter makes me feel special too. Just, well, in a different way."

"I may regret asking this, but how?"

"When I met Riley and heard her say my name for the first time, well, it was like she was saying another fifty things things all wrapped up in that one word. It was like I could hear the future and potential and happiness all wrapped up together." Lucas said.

"She does do that, doesn't she. OK. So we've established how it used to be. What's different?"

"I don't know."

"Sure you do. Lots of the people I interview in court don't think they know what happened but I help them figure it out. Step by step. Let's start with Maya. What does she call you now?"

"She just calls me Lucas."

"No nickname?"

"No." Lucas looked sad as he said it.

"Is it that she just isn't taking the time to make you feel special anymore?"

"Kinda. I miss the effort she used to make. But that's not really it."

"Does it mean something more when she says 'Lucas', like it did when Riley did?"

Lucas thought for a moment, and then brightens. "Yeah. That's it. But it's not happiness and potential that I hear in her voice. There's some fear in her voice. And some hopelessness. I don't like hearing that. I liked it when she was happy to talk to me."

"Excellent." Topanga noticed Lucas' look of dismay and quickly continued. "Not that she sounds that way, but, well, it's good that you've figured something out. So why do you think she feels afraid?"

"I'm not sure if she trusts me. Trusts us. I mean, I never asked her out. Riley just made us get together. Neither one of us ever had the courage to really ask the other out. It was forced on us."

"That sounds like something you need to talk out with Maya. Alright. Let's work on the last piece. Why are you upset when Riley gives you a nickname?"

"It's because she's just using the things that Maya already thought of." said Lucas, although you could tell that isn't the entire story.

"That's it? You're just upset that she isn't being creative enough?" Topanga pushed.

"No. You're right. That isn't it. It's just, well, it makes me feel like she's going to go down the same road as Maya did and I'm going to eventually end up bouncing back and forth between them like I'm a ping pong ball."

"I understand. And that wouldn't be good for any of you, would it." Topanga asked, pointedly.

"Definitely not. I don't want to hurt either one of them but Riley started this big change and sometimes it's hard to stand in your daughter's way. That's a compliment, by the way."

"I know. Thank you Lucas. Look, it isn't easy to stand in her way and it isn't easy to stand in mine. But some of the best things in my life have happened because Cory wouldn't let me mow right over him. Stand up for yourself Lucas. Decide who you are and who you want to be. Both to yourself and to the girls. Then take the braver step. Tell them who you want to be with. Tell them who you want to be.."

As Lucas starts to nod in understanding, Katy's voice chimes from the door. "That sounds like some pretty good advice. Maybe I need to find a little bit of courage myself and try the same thing with Shawn."


	5. Chapter 5

Cory was sitting inside the apartment when he heard a knock at the door. Since no one except Ava generally knocked, he opened the door and gazed toward the floor.

Shawn was standing there. "Hi Cory? Can my knees and the rest of me come in?"

"Shawn?! Shawn!" Cory pulled him inside and shut the door. Their ritual greeting of back slapping and jokes was interrupted when Cory realized that Shawn just wasn't into it. "Hey, buddy. What's wrong?"

"Umm. I don't know if wrong is the right word. Umm… Is Riley home?" he asked with an edge in his voice.

"No, why? What's going on?"

"Because we need her bay window and I didn't want to interrupt her. We need to go up to her room, sit in her bay window, and talk." Shawn said.

Cory looked panicked. "What's wrong with this bay window?" he asked, gestured toward the one in the living room. We could sit in this bay window. We usually use this one. This is a perfectly good bay window. Why do we need that one?"

Shawn looked over. "That bay window is calibrated for guy problems. This isn't a guy problem. It's a girl problem. We need the girl problem window."

Cory thought for a moment. "OK, can't argue with that. Let's head on up.

They did and then sat down together. After a moment of trying to get comfortable, Shawn pulled a fluffy pillow off the seat and then sits back down. "There. I'm ready. Brace yourself. I kind of proposed Katy today." Cory fell off of the window seat in shock. Shawn quickly pulled him back up. "I told you to brace yourself."

"I know. You told me to brace myself and then told me the news. You didn't give any actual time for bracing." Cory replied. "Shawn? This is wonderful. Congratulations! Wait…" He looked at the window seat they were sitting. "So, how exactly is this a problem?"

"Well, like I said, I kind of proposed to her."

"I got that part. I'm still not seeing the problem."

"No Cory, you weren't listening. I didn't propose to Katy. I kind of proposed to her."

Cory sat and thought about it for a minute. "How can you kind of propose to someone?"

"I'm not sure."

"What are you sure of?"

"I'm kind of sure that I'm not sure."

"But not entirely sure that you're not sure?" Cory asked.

"No."

Cory seized on the direct answer. "Look Shawn. This has got to come out one way or the other. Either proposed or you didn't. End of story."

"No, not end of story."

There's more?"

"There's more."

"OK. You kind of proposed. Did she give you an answer?"

"I'm not sure." Shawn replied.

Cory groaned. "My head hurts. Please start at the beginning."

"I walked into the restaurant and teasingly called myself her boyfriend. Then I tried to seriously call myself her boyfriend. And then it all fell apart."

"Shawn, I know you've been out of the game for a while, but asking to be someone's boyfriend isn't the same as proposing."

"I know. Look. What basically happened was that Katy had a problem with the word boyfriend. Not with us being together exactly, just with the name, with the label I mean. She said that boyfriends leave and so we should just remain friends. So I asked her if that, means we went directly from friends to engaged when the time came. Then I made the big mistake." Shawn looked down at his hands. "I asked her if she wanted me to ask her to marry me."

Cory ran that through his head a few times and then nodded. "Got it. Then what?"

"Then she left."

"She just left?" Cory asked.

"She did."

"That's not good."

"And that's why we need the bay window. She made kind of a huffing sound and left." Shawn looked down and sighed. "After it became clear that she wasn't going to talk to me, I wandered around the city for hours. I think I really messed this up, Cory. I really like Katy. I'm ready to take things to the next level. But I don't know if she's ready to trust someone enough to completely let them in."

"Are you sure you are ready to let someone in?"

"I'm very sure. When I asked her out the very first time, that was the decision I had to make. It was like playing Poker. Either I was all in or I had to fold. I decided to go all in. And I haven't regretted if for a minute."

"Shawn, have you thought this all the way through? Your life will change. Your work might need to change; I'm not sure that you can be away that much and still be what Katy needs in her life. That wouldn't be fair to either of you."

"I have thought about it. And even done something. While I was out walking, I called my boss and asked him if I could focus my writing just on New York for a while. He said as long as I can find something to write about, he'll print it."

"Well, that will make a big difference. So, you're ready to be a boyfriend, maybe even a husband at some point. That's huge. But there's a bigger question. Are you ready to be a dad?" Cory asked. But when he asked, he wasn't looking at Shawn. He was looking at Katy standing in the doorway.

"I don't know. I do know that I'm ready to do my best." Shawn replied.

"Sounds like you're ready then, Shawn. Doing your best as a parent is all you can do. And speaking of someone doing there best…" Cory looking meaningfully at the door.

Shawn followed Cory's gaze across the room and saw Katy standing there. "How long have you been standing there?"

Katy smiled. "Long enough. Cory? I think it's time for Shawn and I to talk. Should we leave or...?"

"Stay here. This bay window takes good care of the girls. I think it will take good care of you." He starts to leave. "Oh, by the way, how did you actually get in here?"

"Topanga said you'd be here and gave me a key. Is that OK?" Katy asks hesitantly.

"Not a problem at all. You and Maya are always welcome."

Katy reached into the hallway and pulled Maya into the room. "I appreciate it."

Cory smiles. Then he walks out of the room and shuts the door.

"Look, Katy, I'm sorry for what I said." Shawn starts.

"Don't be. You didn't say anything wrong. I panicked and pushed you into a corner. After Maya's dad left, I tried dating a few guys. It never turned out well. Especially once they realized that they didn't just get me. I had a spit fire of a little girl to make everything nice and complicated."

Shawn looked her right in the eyes. "I know. I met her even before you, remember? In fact, I fell in love with her first. She's a big reason why I want to do this."

"Shawn, we can't do this if it's just for Maya, OK? I, we, deserve better than that."

"Hey, I said 'first', not 'only'. I fell in love you too, Katy. And for yourself. Not because you're Maya's mom."

"What exactly did you fall I love with?" She asked, looking vulnerable. "Don't say that you fell in love with me because I'm pretty or because of my smile. Guys have said that garbage before and eventually I wasn't pretty enough and I didn't smile enough to make them stay.

"I didn't fall in love with your smile, although it is wonderful. I fell in love with how you make me smile. I fell in love with the beauty that you see in the world even though it's worked pretty hard to beat you down. I fell in love with how hard you're willing to work for that girl of yours. I fell in love with the fact that you challenged ever preconceived notion I had about relationships."

"Well, that's good because I'm about to challenge another one of the. Shawn? You're not going to propose to me, not ever. Do you understand? Don't even think about it." Shawn's face crumbled as Katy spoke so she grabbed it and pulled up his chin so his eyes met hers again. "I need to be brave enough to say this. I love you. And I'm going to propose to you."

"I'm sorry, what? When?"

"I've got the bigger leap of faith to make here. I've been burned so many times. But if this is going to work, I have to be the one willing to ask. I'm tired of letting the world do things to me or waiting to see what it brings me. I'm going to take this chance myself. Shawn Hunter? Will you be my boyfriend right now? And possibly even maybe marry me?"

The words just hung in the air. "Boyfriend – Definitely. But marry you… Katy, I want to say yes but I think I need someone's blessing first." Shawn began.

Katy blinked back sudden tears. She turned as if to just give up and then looked hm back in the face. "The old me would have just run out of the room. Instead, I'm going to give you a chance to explain. Who's permission do you need to marry me?"

"If I'm going to be part of your family, I need Maya's permission too."


	6. Chapter 6

Riley walked from dress rack to dress rack. She already had four beautiful dresses in her arms. She finally picked out one more and headed over to the dressing room where Maya was waiting. Farkle was slumped in the 'guy' chair nearby, holding their bags. He appeared to have fallen asleep.

Riley cracked the door of the dressing room open and handed in the dresses. She closed the door and then waited with her arms open. One after another, the dresses were tossed back over the top of the dressing room door into her waiting arms.

"Pink?" shouted Maya from the dressing room as the first dress came flying out. "Hoop skirt?" was the comment before the second came out. "Way too poofy!" and "Even poofier!" followed the next two. There was a slight pause before the last one came over. "Umm – just don't like it." Came May's voice from behind the door. Riley hung up the dresses carefully on the already full return to floor rack next to the dressing rooms and walked back to the dressing room door.

Then Maya's head began appearing briefly above the door once for each word she spoke. "Why. Do. You. Keep. Bringing. Me. Dresses. I'll. Never Wear?!" Maya asked. She appeared to be jumping. "Oh, I give up!" Then there was a bit of heavy breathing and the sounds of clothes hurriedly being put back on. The door opened and Maya came out trying to catch her breath. "I hate being short!" she growled to herself.

"Riley? Why are you making me do this? First of all, there's no way I could pick a dress color until I knew what my mom was going to wear. Second, you keep bringing me fluffy type dresses that I'd never wear in a million years anyway. You're the one who wants to be the princess. Third, my mom should part of this process. Finally, and I think this is the one that really matters, THERE'S NO POINT IN ANY OF THIS BECAUSE MY MOM WILL NEVER TRUST A GUY ENOUGH TO GET MARRIED AGAIN!"

Riley just gestures at the apparently sleeping Farkle and makes a shushing noise. He hadn't even moved during Maya's tirade. Maya looked over and barked at him. "And you're not fooling anyone mister by pretending to be asleep."

"Farkle is not asleep. Farkle has shut down. Please leave a message. Beep." He replied without opening his eyes.

"Nice try. I was talking to Smackle the other day and she said she'd checked carefully and she was VERY certain you were NOT a robot. I'm not entirely certain what she meant by that but she seemed very convinced." Maya shot back. Farkle's eyes still didn't open but he blushed furiously. "Then again, she also said I needed to get Lucas to stop obsessing over her again so what does that prove?" If anything, his blush got deeper but Farkle still didn't budge. Finally Maya turned back to her best friend. "OK Riles. I'm through being distracted by you and I'm through being distracted by Farkle. Can you explain to me now why we're going through all of this nonsense? I love to try on clothes as much as the next girl but this is absurd."

"OK. Fine. But I have to do it over French fries. Let's head over to the food court." Riley said.

"But I don't want to…" Maya tried. She was immediately interrupted by Riley claiming 'Ring power!' "Fine. I'm hungry anyway. Let's go."

Farkle suddenly leaped to life. "OK, well, that means you won't need my anymore to hold bags or anything and so I'll just head home. Don't want to spoil my dinner!" And with that he'd handed them their purses and bolted out of the store.

About fifteen minutes later they were sitting together with a large basket of fries between them. Riley had refused to talk about anything until they were seated but now Maya wasn't going to wait any longer. "Spill it. Why are you so obsessed with the remote possibility that my Mom might get married again?"

Riley sighed. She hated having to get too serious but it was time. "Actually, I'm not obsessed with that at all. If that happens, it happens. This is… something else."

"What?" Maya managed around a fry. She really was hungry.

"It's about Lucas." Riley managed to say.

Maya dropped her half eaten fry. Her appetite was gone. "What about Lucas? Are you trying to make sure he'll be my date or something?"

"No. Look, I called Lucas 'Buckyboy' the other day and it made him kind of mad. I thought maybe you'd know why?"

"Well, he got mad at me right before that for calling him 'Lucas' so that might have been part of it." Maya replied.

"Why would he get mad at you for calling him Lucas?" Riley asked. "That's his actual name." Then suddenly her voice go hopeful. "Unless he has a secret name or something?"

Now Maya sighed. "He doesn't have a secret name. I think he got mad at both of us for the same reason. And I hate to blame you honey, but you started all of this." At Riley's look of confusion, she continued. "When we were in Texas, you started telling Lucas who he was supposed to be. And I don't think he's really all that happy about it. And I'm not sure that I am either."

"I just told him that you liked him and that he liked you. Was I wrong?" Riley asked.

Maya fought with her emotions. She wanted to say that Riley was dead wrong. But she couldn't. "No, Riley. You weren't wrong. At least not for me. I do like Lucas. And so do you."

"But I don't…" She trailed off, unable to lie.

"Riley? I don't need ring power for this one. Farkle outed you on New Year's Eve. Not that he had to; I already knew."

"But you're the one who thought I liked him like a brother instead of a boyfriend."

"You did. You kind of still do. But something changed when you saw him with me, didn't it?" Riley nodded and Maya went on. "It's OK. I understand. I didn't think anything more about him other than 'cute guy' until I saw him with you the first time. The idea of being with someone so kind was just amazing. It was something I never thought I'd have and so I was kind of living it through you. And then just a few weeks ago, you decided it was time for Lucas and me to be perfectly happy together."

"But why shouldn't you guys be happy? You like him, he likes you. It's nice and simple."

"Riley? It isn't even remotely simple. On that first day that we met him on the subway, we were both standing there and he picked you."

"He didn't pick me. You dumped him and then tossed me in his lap. But he was interested in you first. I know he was. I could tell."

"Interested doesn't matter. He picked you. He talked to you in the cafeteria. He pursued you. Actions speak much louder than words. Or thoughts. Which I was OK with. And then things changed. I got to know him. I'd throw some hick comment and him and he'd take it, or better yet, come up with a better response."

"I know. And then you'd get mad at him and make that little growling noise."

"Riles? I wasn't mad. Not even once. That sound wasn't a growl. It was a lot closer to a purr. And after a while, I wanted him to have picked me that first day. I'm sorry Riley, but I really did." Maya started to tear up a bit.

"But you're together now. He did pick you." Riley asked, confused.

Maya was trying and failing to hold back the tears. "No he didn't. He didn't pick me. You told him to pick me. You stepped out of the way and said, well, Lucas? You can't have your first choice so, hey, why don't you give second best a try? And, please forgive me Riley, but I don't want to be second best! I don't want to be the consolation prize. Us Hart women? Mom and me? Well, we've been second best for a long time. And we don't like it. That's why she's not going to marry Shawn after the most pathetic proposal in history and that's why I can't be with Lucas anymore."

"What?" Riley managed.

Maya couldn't stop sobbing. "I can't tease Lucas anymore because it reminds me of when I was still happy. So I just say his name instead of cowboy or Ranger Rick or whatever. And he isn't dumb. He's figured that out for himself. And he wasn't mad at you when you called him one of those names. He was just reminded of what he and I have lost. Names matter and what we mean by them matters. I've figured out one of Mr. Matthews's lessons before you did for once. I'm going to tell Lucas to go back to seeing you." She stood up.

Riley stood up too. "And I'm going to tell him to keep seeing you!"

Luca's voice suddenly intruded into their conversation. "And maybe both of you need to stop making my decisions for me."

"How did you get here?" Maya stammered at him.

"Farkle called me. He said that things were about to explode between you two and I probably should be there to limit the fallout."

Maya sniffed, then looked skyward. "It's like there's some writer out there who thinks that it's funny when people overhear private conversations. How much did you hear?" Lucas's eyes showed that he'd heard enough. Maya took one last look at him standing there with tears still streaming down her face, about faced, and ran.

Riley made as if to follow but Lucas grabbed her arm and had her sit back down. "Let her calm down first. She'll come back. Then all three of us need to talk."

"What makes you so sure she'll come back?" Riley asked.

"Because I just spent a long time talking to another Hart woman. They might run but never actually leave."

"Should we talk some maybe? While we wait?" Riley asked.

"Nope. We have to figure this all out together." Lucas said. And so they sat together in silence. They didn't even finish the fries.

About fifteen minutes later, Maya came back to the table. She couldn't look at either one of them. "I need my jacket." She said, pointing at her chair. "It has my subway pass in it."

Lucas looked at her gently. "Please sit down with us."

Maya sat and replied. "Whatever you say, buckaroo." Then she let her head fall onto the table. "Sorry. Habit."

Lucas reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "It's a habit I really miss, OK?"

Maya looked over at him with a small smile. "Me too."

Riley looked at the two of them. "Me three." She said.

Maya managed a chuckle. "Goof."

Lucas cleared his throat. "OK, well, here's what I've got to say. First of all, Riley? What you did to push Maya and me together? It was nice but it wasn't OK."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted the people I love to be happy. I thought that was the way to make it happen."

"Thank you. I understand. But if you do it again, I'm going to abandon both of you and ask out, I don't know, maybe Sarah from the other side of the classroom. Something like that. Got it?"

Riley laughed. "That would be weird."

Maya smiled too. "I know. It would be like he was asking out my sister or something."

Lucas continued. "Now, all of this came about because Riley decided to make some decisions for me and I wasn't man enough to stand up and make them for myself. And while I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, I need to tell both of you how I feel. I know you're the best of friends but if I don't honestly tell you how I feel, I'll end up tearing you two apart. And that's not something I could live with. Riley, Maya? I care very much about both of you. And what I have to say isn't about rejecting either one of you, alright? After I tell you about how I feel, I'm hoping you can both be honest with yourselves and tell me how you feel. Not how you want to feel, not how you think you should feel, but the truth." Both girls looked up at him, looked at each other, and nodded. "Riley?" Lucas said. Maya's face twisted in pain when Lucas addressed her best friend first. He stopped and looked at her. "Stop that! You haven't even heard me out yet." He turned back to Riley. "Riley? You were right. I do think of you more as a sister than as a girlfriend. I care about you. I love to spend time with you. I wouldn't give that up for the world. But I don't dream about kissing you. Do you understand?"

Maya was shocked. That wasn't at all what she expected Lucas to say. She looked over at her friend expecting to find that Riley was now also in tears. And she was wrong.

Riley leaned over and gave Lucas a hug. "I do. Charlie Gardner helped me figure it out actually. There are crushes, there are loves, and there are friends. I got confused about you because you were more than one. More than one name fit. Charlie… he was just a crush. And when I had to tell him that it wasn't enough, well, it helped me to start figuring out other things. And now I also understand why I shouldn't use Maya's nicknames for you. It's like stepping into her place. To me Lucas, you're a crush and a friend. And while the crush part might take a while to fade, the friend part isn't going anywhere."

Lucas hugged back and then let her go. "That's pretty much how I feel too.

Maya looked at her best friend. "Are you OK? I mean, are you really OK?"

Riley grimaced a bit. "Well, I can't say the realization doesn't sting a bit. But yes, I'm OK. Lucas didn't tell me anything I didn't already know so, well, there's nothing really there to be upset about."

Lucas spoke up. "I've got to finish this before I lose my nerve, OK?" Both the girls nodded and then Lucas focused his attention on Maya. "Maya, I really care about you. I care about you more that I even understand. And that's why I have to break off whatever it is that we're doing now. And I've even got a song to sing about it." He pulled out a scrap of paper.

Maya, who had thought that she was about to get good news, suddenly blanched. "Wait, what? Am I about to become the subject of a country song? You're going to lose your truck, your dog, and your girl?"

Lucas just smiled at her, which infuriated her even more. "Something like that. Just listen." And in an intentionally off key country voice, he began to sing. "There was that time, when I dumped the girl I knew, so I could ask her out again…. Just like she did to me back on the subway…."

Riley squealed in happiness while Maya just stared in disbelief.

Lucas broke off the song. "That was all I managed to write. Maya? Now that you're single, I'd like to officially ask you to be my girlfriend. Will you do me the honor of considering it? You are my choice, first, last or otherwise. I'm hoping that I'm yours."

Maya tried to find her voice. "Umm, they say that every cowboy can sing their way to a girl's heart. And I'm really glad you have other ways to get to mine because that was horrible." She stood up and pulled Lucas to his feet. Then she snuggled into his arms. "But it worked. Yes. I'll happily go out with you, Mad Dog." Lucas bent his head down to sneak another kiss on her cheek but at the last moment, Maya turned her face and caught his lips. It was hard to tell who was more shocked at the real kiss, Lucas, Maya, or Riley. One thing was clear. All three of them were happy.

Maya eventually broke the kiss and buried her flaming red face in Lucas's chest. "I can't believe it. A Hart woman finally got a happy ending. Pity about my mom and Shawn."

Lucas spoke up. "Yeah, about that…."


	7. Chapter 7

Shawn had just about paced a hole in the roof when Maya finally came up the stairs.

"My mom said you wanted to talk to me? She seemed really nervous." she asked, sounding nervous herself.

"Yes I do. Umm, how are you?"

Maya twirled in a circle. "I don't think that's why you wanted to talk to me, but I'll answer anyway. I have a boyfriend. A proper boyfriend. And he even kissed me. All is right with my world."

"Really? That's amazing! Congratulations. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Heehaw, Ranger Rick, Ranger Roy, Bucky McBoingBoing, Hop-Along, Sundance, Huckleberry, Cowboy, Moral Compass, Golden Boy, Soaring Eagle, Lucas The Good! To now just be called Lucas, except on special occasions." Maya crowed.

"Wow. That's a lot of names. Hey, that's incredible. You and Riley are both dating boys named Lucas."

Maya glared at him. "No. Riley is dating no one. I am dating Lucas. Things change when you're not around. Please try to keep up."

"And Riley's OK with that?" Shawn asked, sounding concerned.

"Riley thinks so, Lucas thinks so, and I think so. But we're all teenagers so, really, who on earth knows? I'm just going to focus on being happy."

Shawn grinned. "Sounds like a good idea." Shawn took a deep breath for courage and then said. "I wanted to talk to you about your mom and me. Well, really, it's about all three of us."

"Lucas said he and Topanga talked to her and calmed her down some but that Mom was still dead set against the whole boyfriend thing. Did you propose properly?"

Shawn thought about it and decided that he was going to take some time in explaining this to Maya. He hoped it would help make sure that whatever answer she gave him was real. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, just to really be sure she was ready for such a big change in her life. "No, Maya, I didn't. She and I talked about it and, well, actually she forbid me to ever propose to her."

"So, you can't propose and you can't be her boyfriend. Unless she changed her mind on the boyfriend thing?" Maya sounded like she was already convinced he was going to say no. She wasn't disappointed.

"No way, no day. Boyfriend, as silly as that name is for someone my age, is definitely off the table." Shawn said.

Maya interrupted. She was desperate to find a way to help. "Flowers. I know it's a cliché but Mom's a nut for flowers. I think it's because they're an extravagance we normally can't afford. Or just just because she'd old. Doesn't matter. Or I suppose you can try candy but, really, you should just save time and give that directly to me. Mom never touches it. Oh, just try the flowers, OK? Maybe mom will forgive you or something."

Shawn chuckled to himself. "Flowers aren't going to fix this one. At least, not right now. But you think I should try bribing my way out of trouble when I get in a fight with your mom? You think that will work?"

"No, not really. Generally nothing works. She just stays mad until she gets over it. Maybe if you just stay around to prove to her that you really care, she might give you another chance." She paused and gathered her courage. "And even though you've messed stuff up with mom, well, you haven't with me, OK? I don't want to lose you. It helps me to not be so jealous of Riley."

This finally a hint of what Shawn really wanted to hear. "Maya? Regardless of what happens between your Mom and me, I'm not going anywhere. I need you to understand that."

"Do you promise? I mean, really promise?" Maya said. "And don't say yes unless you mean it."

"Yes, Maya, I absolutely promise. I definitely mean it. You aren't ever going to get rid of me."

"Thank you. That makes this all a little easier." Maya said quietly. They both sat in silence for a minute while they enjoyed the moment.

Shawn finally spoke. "So, you said you're jealous of Riley. How?"

"Did you take stupid pills this morning? First you mess up proposing and then the obvious eludes you. Mr. Matthews is amazing. You know that. He's your best friend. He's almost like a dad to me, but, well, he does have his own family so he can't ever be it completely. And trust me. Not having a Dad around sucks."

"Do you think that will ever change?" Shawn offered.

"What? My dad? Not a chance. I don't blame myself as much anymore and I try not to blame Mom either and I try to forgive him but… But it doesn't always work. I might get to know him better someday. And maybe even forgive him a little bit, if he ever takes responsibility for what happened instead of just whining 'woe is me'. Mr. Matthews says that it's possible – eventually. But even if I did forgive him, his chance to be my dad is gone." Maya brushed back a tear. She wasn't going to let herself cry about that man anymore. He didn't deserve it.

"But you want a dad again someday? You're sure?" Shawn pressed.

"I don't know about 'again' because I don't think I've ever really had one. But yes, I want a dad. I want one I don't have to share. I want one who I don't have to experience through Riley. And I want one who makes my mom happy." There was a new certainty to Maya's voice now that she was admitting this out loud.

"Do you think I could be that dad? You know, someday? Could I help fill that hole in your life?" Shawn asked gently. They were finally getting down to what he needed to know.

"Well, that was pretty much the plan until you hosed up that proposal this afternoon. It wasn't exactly The Parent Trap but, yeah, that's what I'd been hoping for. In a way, you already do help. But no one is ever really going to really be 'Dad' until they love my mom and me."

Shawn took another deep breath. "I do love your mom. Very much actually"

Maya looked up from her unshed tears. "And?" she said, more vulnerable then she'd ever been in her life.

Shawn continued. "And I love you too kid." He automatically opened his arms and caught her as she flew toward him. Then he let her cry for a few minutes.

Finally Maya managed to talk. "I love you Shawn. And I think Mom does too." Then her voice got accusatory. "Why did you mess this up? You can't propose! You can't be her boyfriend. Which means you can't marry her and be my dad."

Shawn couldn't let it go on any further. "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it's a really good reason."

"So, what's the good reason then?" She asked. "Because I can't think of a single good one?"

"It forced your mom and me to figure out how we really felt. And that needed to happen. Sometimes people aren't ready to change who they are until they get pushed. And it gave me the opportunity to ask you this very important question. Maya, do I have your permission to marry your mom? Do I have permission to join your family?

Maya laughed in disbelief. "Sure. For whatever good it'll do you, sure. You have my permission to marry my mom." She sounded a little sarcastic but it was still clear she was telling the truth. "Is that the plan? Do you want me to propose for you or something?"

Shawn gave her a little squeeze. "No, that's not the plan. It won't be necessary. The most amazing thing happened this afternoon.

"You find a time travel machine and you can go back to before you put your foot in your mouth?" Maya asked.

"Nope. Your mother proposed to me." Shawn replied, watching her expression carefully.

Maya stopped dead and looked up at him. She tried to speak. She failed. She tried again. She failed again. The questions and confusion in her head wouldn't stop long enough to turn into words. Her mom stepped out from the doorway onto the roof where, as she and Shawn had planned, she'd been watching most of the conversation. Maya broke out of Shawn's arms and walked over to her mom. She still couldn't speak but she looked at her mom for some sort of answer.

Katy looked past Maya toward Shawn. "If I had any doubts about proposing to you or you really being part of Maya's life, that performance squashed them. You made her figure out how she felt and tell you how she felt. And you tortured the heck out of her while you did it. You're going to be a great dad."

Shawn smiled back over at her. "It was a team effort. You told me which buttons to push."

Maya finally managed to speak. "Hold on. You put me through this on purpose? Both of you?" she asked. The question was directed at both Shawn and Katy.

Shawn held his hands in front of himself protectively. "We did. I figured that if we just asked you straight out, we'd get a 'yes' or a 'no' without you really thinking about it. And this was too important for that. I was afraid that if you didn't think it through, you'd never completely accept it."

Katy wrapped her arm around her daughter and looked over expectantly. "So, does that mean I'm going to get my answer? Are you going to marry me? Are you going to be part of our family?" She gave Maya a sideways look. "Will you be my fiancé? Because I might not like boyfriend but fiancé is just fine with me. Well, at least until it gets replaced by husband." Another teasing look at Maya. "Are you going kiss me and make everything right with my world?" She was joking and paraphrasing Maya's description of dating Lucas, but you could still tell that she wasn't completely certain he was going to say yes.

Shawn walked over and wrapped the two of them in a hug. "I am." He said simply.

They stood there enjoying the moment. Finally, Maya broke away from them. "Kiss my mom, stupid." She said.

"Don't call your dad to be stupid." Katy said absently. "Wow. Never thought I'd say those words." And then Shawn kissed her gently.

"OK. Let's go downstairs and tell everyone else. Because I think Cory's going to explode if I don't hurry up and tell him he gets to be my best man."


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone was sitting around waiting for them. Topanga was sitting on the couch with Riley browsing through a couple of wedding magazines. Auggie was playing on the floor with some blocks. And Cory was pacing circles that would have perfectly matched the ones that Shawn had been pacing a little while ago. His head snapped up when the Shawn, Katy, and Maya entered.

"Well? Did you? Did she? Are you?" Cory asked? "What happened? Maya, are you alright? Shawn? Please, you've got to tell me…."

Shawn took a deep breath. "Well Cory, I have some good news and bad news for you. Which do you want first?"

"I don't know. The good news first might prepare me for the bad news. And the bad news first means that the good news gets to cheer me up…. I can't decide." Cory mumbled

Katy spoke up. "Fine. Bad news first. We are not getting married right now."

The whole room went dead quiet. Even Maya looked shocked. Topanga spoke up. "I'm sorry to hear that. It's OK. You don't have to give us all the details. We'll respect your privacy."

Katy looked at Maya's face and giggled. "Shawn, you're right. Doing that is entirely too much fun. OK. I'll behave. The good news is that the only part of that statement that was important was the 'right now' part. We're not going to rush down to the courthouse or plan a wedding in a couple of weeks.. We're going to enjoy being engaged first and take our time with this wedding. Neither one of us has ever gotten to before and, well, we think we deserve it."

Topanga grinned. "Oh good. Because that whole 'respect your privacy' thing was a bunch of hooey anyway. You never would have survived my interrogation."

"Sorry Maya, it was just too tempting. And while there are a lot of things that Shawn and I have to figure out, there is one that I know. I'll want you standing next to me when this crazy guy makes us into a proper family."

Maya looked up at her mom. "Really?"

"Definitely, kiddo." Katy replied.

Shawn turned to Katy. "So, can I ask him now? Please?" She nodded. Shawn walked over to Cory. "And yes, Cory, I would like you to be my best man. When the time comes, I mean. Would you please?"

"YES!" screamed Cory. He gave his oldest friend a huge hug.

Katy looked at Topanga. "Why do I think part of this wedding is going to end up being about them?"

"Because a little part of it will. Get used to it, honey. Those two are closer than any married couple. But I got used to being a third wheel around them a long time ago and I can't say that I'm any worse for the experience."

"I suppose that means that you and I might get to know each other better too? As a way to balance that out?" Katy asked.

"I like the way you think, sister." Said Topanga. "Let's go look at wedding magazines."

"I don't think we'll be able to afford anything fancy like those." Katy protested.

"Oh relax. Nobody can afford that kind of stuff. It's still fun to look at them and dream. For example, they have these beautiful southern bell bridesmaid dresses…."

Shawn and Cory looked at each other and then back at the women. "No way!"

Maya walked over to sit beside Riley. "So, umm, well….."

Riley hugged her. "I know. It's what you've always dreamed of. We're going to be cousins!"

"What are you talking about?" Maya asked.

"Well, Shawn might as well be my official uncle. And that would make you my cousin."

Maya laughed "Oh my god. That would mean that Lucas has dated cousins. That's so 'country' I'm going to have to tease him unmercifully about it."

Riley smiled. "So, you're feeling more like your old self with him?"

Maya replied. "I will be if he is. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. I need to find out if he can handle dating me when I'm really being me instead of a wuss. Mom had the courage to propose to Shawn. If this shakeup is going to work, then he needs to accept me when I pull out all of the stops. Riles? Are you really OK with everything that's happening?"

"Your mom marrying Shawn? Of course I am."

"No. About Lucas and me. I'm still a little scared you'll come to your senses. You've had time to think. No second thoughts?"

"Nah. A few 'might have been's', but no regrets. There's a difference. All I want is for you is that the two people I love are going to be happy."

"Great. Then I have a few ideas on how to have some fun with Ranger Rick tomorrow."

"I can't wait." Riley looked carefully at Maya. "This dating thing is never going to work for either one of us unless we manage to be something other than nervous."

"Exactly." Maya asked. "Are you going to feel left out? Should we try to find you someone? Hey, here's this new guy in my building. SO cute! I bet…"

Riley interrupted her. "Maya? Don't worry about it. I'm sure that when I'm ready to really meet someone new, somehow the world will find a way to introduce them to me."

"If you say so. That won't stop me from trying to help things along, you know." Maya countered.

"I know. You're a part of that world that will help me figure out when I'm ready." Riley decided it was time to change the subject. "Hey Maya?" Riley looked over at Shawn and then back at Maya. "Are you ready to have a Dad? A real one? It isn't always hugs and free clothes you know. Sometimes they say no. Or ground you. Or turn off your texting!"

"Wait, what? They get to do that?" Maya couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that. "Well, he and your dad used to get into a lot of trouble together, right?" Riley nodded and Maya continued, her voice suddenly pitched to carry. "I guess I'll have to try to trust that Shawn isn't too old to remember what it was like to be young."

Shawn commented from the other side of the room. "Old? Me?"

Maya grinned over at him. "You. Old. Ancient. Decrepit."

"Ugg. I didn't need to hear that." Shawn said.

Maya retorted. "Then stop overhearing conversations. It's alright though. You and mom can enjoy getting old together."

"Hey!" said Katy.

"Love you too mom." Maya finished.

Cory walked over and put his arm around Topanga. "It's not so bad getting old when you have someone to do it with. "

"Who are you calling old?" Asked Topanga. But she hugged him back anyway.

Cory broke away from visiting with Shawn. "Hey Maya. Are you ready for class tomorrow?"

"Not yet. But I will be." Maya indulged in her favorite evil smile.


	9. Chapter 9

Maya and Lucas just made it to class before the bell rang. They both looked a little flushed. While Mr. Matthews got his papers together to get started, Riley leaned over to Maya.

"What got you so hot and bothered, missy?" she asked teasingly. "Did a cowboy manage to get a little bit under your collar?"

Maya blushed a bright crimson. "Why? Is it still messed up? He said he fixed…" She ran her hands over her shirt to make sure everything was properly in place. "Shut up! Nothing like that! I, um, had something in my eye and Lucas was trying to help me get it out."

"And how exactly does kissing you help get something out of your eye?" Riley giggled. "I saw you two behind the lockers on the way in here."

"I…. I close my eyes when I kiss, OK? And that helps..." Maya tried to hold onto a bit of dignity. She failed.

"Maya… Is he a good kisser? Is real kissing good? I mean, sure, I kissed him, but it was a 'first kiss' type kiss. I remember that it happened but not exactly how it felt. Does that make sense? Sometimes I'm afraid I don't make any sense."

"Definitely. And my first kiss with him was pretty much the same. All sparkles and rainbows and 'what on earth just happened?'. But after that… Are you sure you want to know more?" Maya replied.

Riley took a moment to think. "I'm sure."

"You asked for it then. Yes he's a good kisser and yes, kissing is great. Not that I have anything to compare it to but I have zero complaints." Maya said. Riley sighed and looked away. Maya caught the look. "I'm sorry hon. I knew I shouldn't answered that."

"I'll survive. I'll get to experience it too someday, right?" Riley asked.

"Definitely." Maya replied.

"Are we still on for the joke?" Riley said quietly.

"If you're sure you can han…" Maya said

Riley interrupted. "Please stop asking me that, Maya. The situation is awkward enough without you reminding me of it every ten minutes. But, yes, I'm up for the joke. I want to see his face. And my Dad's."

Mr. Matthews cleared it throat. "OK everyone. Before we get started, does anyone have any news they want to share?" He looked at Maya. "You know, because you're going to tell us anyway and it's easier for you to do it now instead of when I'm in the middle of something?"

Maya stood up. "Thank you Mr. Matthews. There's one thing I have to do first though." She pulled a helmet out from under her desk and handed it to Lucas. He took it from her and just stared at it. "Put it on." She said. He did, still looking extremely confused. She turned to face the class. "My mother is planning on marrying this guy's best friend from when he was growing up." She indicated Mr. Matthews. "They are closer than brothers so as far as Riley and I are concerned, we're cousins." She presented it as if that was all she was going to say.

"Congratulations, Maya!" Said Mr. Matthews although of course he already knew. The rest of the class muttered nice things as well. "Now, yesterday we were going over…"

Maya interrupted. "Excuse me sir." She tried to look innocent. "But I'm not quite done."

"No. You're definitely done. You're done because you have the look. Nothing good comes of letting you talk when you have that look." Mr. Matthews said.

"What look?" Maya asked.

"The innocent look."

"But I am innocent." She said. The class tittered. They didn't buy it either. "And I don't know what you're talking about." Maya replied. "I just have a teensy bit more news for the class.

Mr. Matthews looked at the ceiling. "Is it Friday yet? 'cause it feels like a Friday. And on Fridays they have mashed potatoes in the cafeteria." He looked at the calendar. "It is Friday. And I can smell the potatoes. That means I can handle this." He looked back at Maya. Then he reached inside his desk, pulled out an umbrella and opened it. Maya looked at him quizzically. "In case you go for the sprinklers again."

"Silly teacher. I'd never be so crass as to repeat myself." Maya said. She turned back to the class. Then her attention focused on Lucas.

"Oh no." Lucas murmured. "Please don't…."

Maya went on as if she hadn't heard him. "Lucas and I are now dating. And he has kissed me. And I've got permission from Riley to tell you that he also kissed her when they were dating."

Lucas looked down at his desk, his face flaming red. The helmet made a clunking sound when his head hit the desk. "Stop. Please stop…" He said.

Maya switched to her strongest country accent and looked directly at Lucas. "Which means, country boy, that you has been kissin cousin's!"

The class laughed and Lucas managed to pull up his head. "I never thought about it that way but I guess you're right. Why did I need the helmet though? I can usually anticipate you on these things and wouldn't a cowboy hat have been more appropriate?"

Maya gestured back toward Mr. Matthews, who was standing in shock.

"You!" said Mr. Matthews, staring at Lucas. "You…!"

Lucas jumped out of his seat and started backing away. "Maya?" he said, panic in his eyes.

Maya smiled sweetly. "That's why need the helmet."

Mr. Matthews was still trying to speak. "You kissed BOTH OF THEM? That's it! You're going back to Texas right now!"

Lucas ran for it as Mr. Matthews lunged for him. He dodged out of the way and looked back toward Maya. "Meet you at three?"

Maya laughed. "If you live that long, Mad Dog."


	10. Chapter 10

Maya checked her watch. She was sitting at a table for two in a small café a few blocks from their school. It was forty five minutes after three. Lucas was running late. She was a little bit worried, particularly because dodging Mr. Matthews was not all that difficult. She looked up and down the menu. Nothing was cheap. So far she'd ordered water. They'd brought a basket of rolls to the table. She'd finished them and the waiter had grudgingly brought her a second basket when she'd asked. The waiter was starting to hint more strongly that she needed to order something that cost actual money if she wanted to stay.

She didn't want to leave. Lucas might show up afterwards and be disappointed. She also didn't want to consider the possibility that she'd been stood up. No, that was impossible. Lucas wouldn't do that. Not even if he was mad at her about her and Riley's little joke. She checked her phone again. There wasn't a message from him. She didn't want to be the nagging girlfriend but… she went ahead a sent a quick message. 'I'm at the restaurant. Where are you?'

She sat there a little bit longer then opened up her purse to count her change. She had enough to order a soda. She didn't really need anything more to drink but it was the cheapest thing on the menu. Plus, it was the only thing she could order and still have enough money left for the tip. As the daughter of a waitress/actress, tipping was very important to her. Sometimes tips had been the only reason they'd had enough money to eat. Or the only way they managed to pay the rent. She never wanted to be part of leaving someone else in that situation. Just as she was about to waive for the waiter, Shawn walked up to the table and sat down.

Maya smiled at him nervously. "Umm, Hi Shawn. I was actually waiting for Lucas."

Shawn smiled at her. "I know. He and I just finished talking. Nice kid." Shawn picked up the other menu and started idly flipping through it.

"Is he coming?" asked Maya.

Shawn looked up at her. "Oh. Sorry. I should have mentioned that. No. Definitely not coming." Shawn looked back down at the menu. "Have you ever tried the Reuben sandwich here? I'm kind of in a Reuben mood."

"Why is Lucas not coming?" asked Maya, testily.

This time Shawn didn't even look up. "I told him not to. Oh, forget it. It's too close to dinner so the sandwich is out. I think I'll just have nachos." He looked up and waived at the waiter who immediately came over and started to order. "I'll have the nachos and she'll have…" he gestured toward Maya.

"Are you paying?" she asked. Shawn nodded. Maya turned to look at the waiter. "I'll have the lobster. And 5 bottles of that really expensive wine on the bottom of the menu."

The waiter looked at her cautiously. "Could I see some ID please, miss?"

Maya just stared directly at Shawn while she answered the waiter. "It's okay. I don't need ID. I'm not going to drink it. I just want him to pay for it."

Shawn looked apologetically at the waiter. "Umm, nevermind. She'll just have the nachos too." he said. The waiter bustled away to get their order put in. "What's up with the crazy order?"

"What's up with telling my boyfriend not to meet me?" Maya shot back.

"I went over a few things with him and then I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry he didn't call or anything. I didn't want him spoiling the surprise but our conversation went longer than I expected."

"What did you talk to him about?" asked Maya. She wasn't calming down at all.

"He and I had a discussion about things that he should and shouldn't do. It mostly focused on 'shouldn't'. It was a long list so it took a while to go over."

"I see. What gave you the idea you had the right to do that?" Maya shot back.

"Actually, you did." Shawn replied. And smiled at her. "You said you wanted to have a Dad. And according to Cory, the most important thing on the Dad task list is discouraging boyfriends. So I decided it was a good place to start."

"He would say that. Hey, you're not my dad yet." replied Maya.

"No, but I'm going to be soon enough. Might as well start practicing."

"Practicing?" Maya was finally transitioning from angry to confused.

"Yeah. It was clear from the first five minutes that boy of yours wasn't going to cross any line you didn't ask him to. In fact, he probably wouldn't do it even if you did ask. At least not the first time anyway. But I'd never tried this responsible parent thing so I decided to make sure I'd done it properly. Just in case the next time it's tougher. I think I've got him intimidated so much that he's going to wash his hands before he even texts you." Shawn seemed very proud of himself.

"Next time? There isn't going to be a next time. Lucas and I are happy."

"I know. And I hope you stay that way. But not even Cory and Topanga stayed together the entire time they were figuring out their feelings."

"Fine. Maybe our future won't be perfect. But still, I can take care of myself. There won't need to be any next time."

"Sure there will. Right now, for example." Shawn replied.

"What?" replied Maya.

"Now I get to have the same conversation with you. You and I get to have the talk also."

Maya just stared at him in horror. They were interrupted briefly while the waiter delivered their food. Once he had left, Maya leaned toward Shawn so that she could whisper. "Are you seriously going to give me 'the talk' in the middle of a restaurant? Are you completely insane?"

Suddenly Shawn looked panicked. "Oh. No. No. No No. Not that talk. Your mom can handle that talk. Probably she already has handled that talk. But there is no way I'm trying that one. What I wanted to talk to you about was what being boyfriend/girlfriend meant to you and Lucas. So, what does it mean?" Shawn asked.

"Duh. It means we're dating." Maya replied quickly.

"And that means…." Shawn said.

"We go out."

"And…" Shawn pressed again.

Maya blushed. "And maybe kiss once in a while?"

"And…" Shawn pressed a third time.

"And… I don't know. I don't know, all right? I haven't figured that part out yet. Is that what you wanted to hear?" To cover her confusion, Maya went ahead and had a bite of her nachos.

"That is what I was hoping to hear. And I'm glad to hear it."

"You're glad I'm confused?" replied Maya.

"No. I'm glad you haven't tried to define something that has just started. Take your time figuring this out. Lucas is your boyfriend. You're his girlfriend. Those words come with a LOT of meanings. And they can imply a lot of things you might not have considered or be ready for yet. It can mean that you talk more to each other. Or less. It can involve fighting and making up. It can mean kissing… and, well, things involved in that talk I'm NOT having with you. Both of you can end up with a lot of assumptions and those assumptions can get you in trouble. Ultimately, they're just words. You two will really define who you are over time. I just want you to be safe while you figure all these things out, Maya. That's the point of all of this."

Maya swallowed another bite of nachos. She couldn't believe what he'd done. "So, fine. I'm safe. You've scared Lucas to within an inch of his life. I'll be lucky if I can manage to get into the same room with him now. Your job is done. Why do you need to talk to me?"

"Because I'm afraid." Said Shawn.

"You're afraid? For me? But why? I can take care of myself." Protested Maya.

"Because you're like me." Said Shawn. "And that means you are incredibly likely to get in over your head. God knows I did often enough. That's what makes me afraid. I always wanted to do things fast. I wanted find the easy answer. I dated a LOT…. And your mother does not need to know that. I always wanted to jump to the end. And I'm afraid you'll try the same thing with Lucas. There are going to be all kinds of things you want to do. And there's only so long that boy can hold onto his virtue if you really start to push him. So that's my real point. Boyfriend is a name. Girlfriend is a name. But who cares what everyone else thinks they mean. Figure it out for yourselves. And don't be afraid to take your time with it. If you're destined to be together, then there's no need to rush."

Maya looked chagrined. "I understand. Is… is kissing him OK?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Kissing is fine. Just nothing involving your collar right now, okay?"

Maya's face went white. She tried to sound calm as she replied. "I'm not sure what you mean by that."

Shawn took a deep breath. "I don't know what it means either. And I don't think I want to. I'm not ready for that level of fatherhood quite yet. All I do know is that at one point when Lucas was confessing everything he'd ever done in his life, he mentioned something about your collar."

Maya's expression moved from pale to flushed. "I… I'll behave." She took a minute to get a hold of herself and then relaxed. "Shawn? Thank you. Thank you for caring what happens to me. Mom does. And Riley does. And Mr. Matthews does. But none of them are my dad. And it might be too early to tell but I think you're going to be a great one. You practiced on being a dad today… Is it okay if I practice calling you Dad?"

"That would make me very happy." Shawn replied, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Here goes then." Maya said. Then she took a deep breath. "I love you Dad."


End file.
